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Wheeler County, Texas: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in Wheeler County is 221.9 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.8 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 48 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by Major air pollution source (23), NPDES wastewater discharge permit (14), Public airport (2). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 35.4053, -100.2697.

How this county ranks in Texas

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Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for Wheeler County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	55.4	30.2	1.83xSignificant	33.8 to 87.8	2020-2024
All cancer	Deaths	221.9	143.2	1.55xSignificant	175.5 to 278.5	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	71.5	51.8	1.38x	47.5 to 105.8	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	458.8	453.4	1.01x	387.7 to 540.4	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for Wheeler County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	13,275	9,842.6	+35%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	71.3	75.3	-5%	years
Child mortality	n/a	59.8	n/a	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	120.4	96.9	+24%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	n/a	28.6	n/a	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde14.11 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.74 per million
Acetaldehyde0.93 per million
Benzene0.53 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

48 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

Major air pollution source23
NPDES wastewater discharge permit14
Public airport2
Gas station (mapped facility)2
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)2
Air permit holder (minor source)1
Hazardous waste transporter1
TRI reporting facility1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Enable Products/Wheeler Natural Gas Processing Plant, Wheeler
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Toluene, Cyclohexane, Xylene (mixed isomers) and 2 more. Reports carcinogens. 13,971 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7909WNBLMD1564C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Wheeler Gas Plant, Wheeler
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: n-Hexane, Ethylene glycol. 885 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 7909WWHLRG7675C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 5.3
Wheeler Gas Plant, Wheeler
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110055492747 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 5.2
Red River Compressor Station No 1, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007193492 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kellerville Booster 4, Shamrock
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007206077 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Gageby Creek Compressor Station, Mobeetie
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110007206399 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Zybach Plant, Briscoe
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110023014003 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Eldridge Compressor Station, Allison
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110028009893 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Hidetown Gas Plant, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110030736764 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
South Zybach Compressor Station, Allison
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110031503923 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Stiles 1-4-1 Production Facility, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110033142249 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Patterson Production Facility, Mobeetie
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034194958 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Etheredge Compressor Station, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110034208998 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Zybach Cryogenic Plant, Allison
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110035126208 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
North Briscoe Compressor Station, Briscoe
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037531702 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Markwest South Britt Ranch Compressor Station, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037538723 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
North Britt Ranch Compressor Station, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110037573435 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Stiles Ranch 10 1 Production Facility, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038106778 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Apache Corporation, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110038106796 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Huff Compressor Station, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110040631867 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Allison Plant, Allison
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110043997137 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Eldridge Ii Compressor Station, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110044318413 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Kelton Gas Plant, Wheeler
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110046385247 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
J L Davis Pearsall Gas Plant, Pearsall
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054883989 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5
Moore Compressor Station, Twitty
Major air pollution source.
EPA FRS registry ID 110054885861 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 3.5

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for Wheeler County

Texas state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in Wheeler County, and their findings.
Texas vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Texas health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Texas environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
Texas drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

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